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Turkish parliament votes through Sweden’s Nato application

Turkey's parliament on Tuesday evening voted through Sweden's Nato application, leaving only the signature of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the country's long-delayed ratification to be complete.

Published: 23 January 2024 21:09 CET
Turkish parliament votes through Sweden's Nato application
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged this summer to let Sweden join Nato, after a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, left, and Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, right. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

The vote came after more than a year of delays that upset Western efforts to show resolve in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Lawmakers voted 287-55 in favour of the Nordic nation’s bid to become the 32nd member of the US-led alliance, leaving Nato member Hungary as the last holdout in the accession process.

Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed the vote on Twitter, saying that it was “positive” that the Turkish parliament had taken this step. 

Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, said at a doorstep meeting with journalists after the vote that he thought that Erdogan should now be able to sign the document “pretty quickly”. 

He said that the ratification process had been “a long journey” which “would of course not be finished” until Erdogan has signed the documents and sent them to Washington. 

EXPLAINED:

Ankara forced the Nordic countries to split up their applications after finding fault with Sweden and approving Finland after a few rounds of talks.

Finland’s membership last April doubled the length of Nato’s border with Russia and boosted the defences of three tiny Baltic nations that joined the bloc following the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

Sweden and Finland pursued a policy of military non-alignment during the Cold War era between the Soviet Union and the West.

But the Ukraine war upturned geopolitical calculations and forced the two to seek the nuclear protection afforded by the world’s most powerful defence organisation.

Hungary has followed Turkey’s lead throughout the Nato accession process and was expected to approve Sweden’s without significant resistance.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday invited his Swedish counterpart to Budapest to discuss the bid.

But hints emerged on Tuesday of strains between Stockholm and Budapest. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he saw “no reason” to negotiate with Hungary about Stockholm’s Nato candidacy “at this point”.

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SWEDEN AND GERMANY

What’s on the agenda for German chancellor’s visit to Sweden?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Sweden to discuss security and business competitiveness with his Nordic colleagues on a two-day visit.

Published: 13 May 2024 14:25 CEST
What's on the agenda for German chancellor's visit to Sweden?

Scholz was to visit the Stockholm headquarters of telecommunications giant Ericsson on Monday, accompanied by the prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

They were to “discuss security policy issues such as hybrid threats, civil preparedness and new technologies,” the Swedish government said in a statement.

A press conference was to follow just before 6pm.

“At a dinner that evening, discussions will centre on continued support to Ukraine,” the government said, as Russian troops launched a major ground operation against Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region amid Kyiv’s struggles with Western aid delays.

The Nordic countries and Germany have been among Ukraine’s biggest donors since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Berlin is the world’s second biggest donor to Ukraine, giving 14.5 billion euros so far, according to the Kiel Institute.

“Security policy and the upcoming Nato summit will top the agenda,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote in a piece published in financial daily Dagens Industri on Monday.

“Financial competitiveness issues” will also be discussed, he said, noting that “the Nordic region wants to play a key role in efforts to strengthen the European economy”.

On Tuesday, Kristersson and Scholz were scheduled to hold bilateral talks and visit the Norrsken Foundation, which supports young growth companies active in the green and digital transition.

Afterwards the two leaders were to sign a “strategic innovation partnership” between Germany and Sweden.

The visit was to be their first bilateral meeting since Sweden joined Nato in March 2024.

The next Nato summit will take place July 9th-11th in Washington.

“Sweden has, and must have, a clear international voice in the world,” Kristersson wrote in Dagens Industri.

The Scandinavian country has enjoyed decades of strong cooperation with Nordic and Baltic countries, and with intensified collaboration “with two other Baltic Sea countries, Poland and Germany, our region will be safer and stronger”, he said.

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